Monthly Archives: September 2013
207.The Lion and the Boar
ON A SUMMER DAY, when the great heat made the beasts thirsty, a lion and a boar came at the same moment to a small well to drink. They argued fiercely which of them should drink first, and were soon engaged in the agonies of a mortal combat. When they suddenly stopped to catch their breath for a fiercer renewal of the fight, they saw some vultures waiting in the distance to feast on the one that should fall first. At once they made up their quarrel, saying,
“It is better for us to make friends than to become the food of crows or vultures.”
❖ You can catch more vultures and flies with carcasses than with vinegar.
206.The Lark Burying Her Father
THE LARK, according to an ancient legend, was created before the earth itself, and when her father died, as there was no earth, she could find no place of burial for him. She let him lie uninterred for five days, and on the sixth day, not knowing what else to do, she buried him in her own head. Hence she obtained her crest, which is popularly said to be her father’s grave-hillock.
❖ In pursuit of better things, drop impossible fables such as this one. Do not deny yourself such happiness.
205.The Lark and Her Young Ones
A LARK had made her nest in the early spring on the young green wheat. The brood had almost grown to their full strength and attained the use of their wings and the full plumage of their feathers, when the owner of the field, looking over his ripe crop, said,
“The time has come when I must ask all my neighbours to help me with my harvest.”
One of the young Larks heard his speech and related it to his mother, inquiring of her to what place they should move for safety.
“There is no occasion to move yet, my son,” she replied; “the man who only sends to his friends to help him with his harvest is not really in earnest.”
The owner of the field came again a few days later and saw the wheat shedding the grain from excess of ripeness. He said,
“I will come myself tomorrow with my labourers, and with as many reapers as I can hire, and will get in the harvest.”
The lark on hearing these words said to her brood, “It is time now to be off, my little ones, for the man is in earnest this time; he no longer trusts his friends, but will reap the field himself.”
❖ Self-help is the best help.
❖ Much depends on who owns the soil.
❖ One is to plumb the depths by being in earnest so as to get a good enough harvest somewhere.
204.The Lamp
A LAMP, soaked with too much oil and flaring brightly, boasted that it gave more light than the sun. Then a sudden puff of wind arose, and the lamp was at once blown out. Its owner lit it again, and said:
“Boast no more, but from now on be content to give your light in silence. Know that not even the stars need to be relit.”
❖ A little stumble may prevent a fall .
